I am back home. I have some better shots in my photo stream of this sunset. I took some from my car window --- had I charged my camera battery I might have gotten more. Oh well.

I haven't a culinary gem to pull out of my chef hat at this moment --- but more will follow I promise.

I did the math recently as I looked at my feedburner stats since April 2004 --- I have over 130 readers by rss aggregation! Plus like 15 by email.

Wow! Thanks for reading! I wasn't trying to create a pretentious food blog, nor was I claiming to be some culinary wizard. I wanted to write my thoughts and I admit I haven't been the most regular poster. Balancing your life when your a blogger and single is one thing --- but when you have a family to take care of with a young child and are going to school full time it is a lot harder to be consistent when blogging...atleast for me.

It has been a struggle, as I have suffered a writing ship wreck --- I am surely caught in The doldrums:

Early sailors named this belt of calm the doldrums because of the low spirits they found themselves in after days of no wind. To find oneself becalmed in this region in a hot and muggy climate could mean death in the era when wind was the only motive force.

Writer's block. No creative thoughts, like a blank stare into a calm sea. Frustrating, as there is no change ...Just a sour awareness you are not creating anything new.

08 February 2006

Hand made truffles. These are a few examples of the chocolates our resident chocolatier has introduced into the curriculum...How beautifully tempered -- notice the glossy sheen? That is a sign of well tempered chocolate. I will introduce more on the subject of chocolate at a latter date...

Yikes.Happy Birthday to me!It feels strange to be 26 years old. Reflecting on my life , it reminds me of a song.....

"Oh,to live on sugar mountain

With the barkers and the colored balloons,You can't be twenty on sugar mountainThough you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,You're leaving there too soon.

It's so noisy at the fairBut all your friends are thereAnd the candy floss you hadAnd your mother and your dad.

Oh, to live on sugar mountainWith the barkers and the colored balloons,You can't be twenty on sugar mountainThough you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,You're leaving there too soon.

There's a girl just down the aisle,Oh, to turn and see her smile.You can hear the words she wroteAs you read the hidden note.

Oh, to live on sugar mountainWith the barkers and the colored balloons,You can't be twenty on sugar mountainThough you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,You're leaving there too soon.

Now you're underneath the stairsAnd you're givin' back some glaresTo the people who you metAnd it's your first cigarette.

Oh, to live on sugar mountainWith the barkers and the colored balloons,You can't be twenty on sugar mountainThough you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,You're leaving there too soon.

Now you say you're leavin' home'cause you want to be alone.Ain't it funny how you feelWhen you're findin' out it's real?

Oh, to live on sugar mountainWith the barkers and the colored balloons,You can't be twenty on sugar mountainThough you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,You're leaving there too soon.

Oh, to live on sugar mountainWith the barkers and the colored balloons,You can't be twenty on sugar mountainThough you're thinking that you're leaving there too soon,You're leaving there too soon."

Indian dessert: Deep-fried dough served in a sugar syrup flavored with rose water.

[ Hindi translation = [gulāb] ="rose water" + [ jāmun]= "fruit"]

Indian sweets are generally based on thickened milk (khoya) and rice flour---" Chaval ka atta" (in Hindi) or "arisi mavu" (in Tamilamil) . This combo has many uses : Crispness can be obtained if added to deep fried vegetables .

Used as a thickener in South Indian cuisine --- dishes such as kolambu, gotsu and rasa vangi which are then served with plain rice. IA thick batter can be made with urad dal for dosas and idlis. In Northern Indian cuisine it is used mainly in a puddingcalled phirni .

If your path takes you to East, Middle or West India --- it is the base of various pancakes, dumplings, fried snacks and sweets.

Rice flour is also used in painting 'kolam's' or alpanas, (mandalas) attractive designs fused with flowers on the thresh hold of traditional homes..

OR chickpea flour. --- a.k.a Gram flour, made from chickpeas (chana dal), is used as a binding agent for Koftas (meatballs or vegetable balls), or as a batter for fritters and as the base savory snacks like Dhokla (steamed dumplings), Bonda (spiced potato curry balls dipped in a batter of besan and deep fried),or Sev (fine, fried strands or sweets like ladoos.

Besan is used in many beauty related recipes : homemade masks , face scrub and toner,It is mainly mixed with malai (cream) and drops of rose water, or plain water.Cardamom, almond, raisin, saffron, jaggery, rose-water and a hint of camphor are some of the commonly used flavorings used to scent Indian sweets. Bengali confections are favored all over India, especially sweets which use cottage cheese (paneer) or khoya as a base ingredient.

Popular sweets are Rasogullas and Gulab jamuns, these cottage cheese and khoya balls are soaked in scented sugar syrup. Favorite Indian delicacies include Jalebi (airy and light 'curlicues' of deep fried flour, soaked in syrup). Halwa (semolina pudding), Sohan halwa are very rich, chewy, nutty candies.I discovered my love of all food Indian, through an old friend roommate. She had been heavily influenced by her father's stint in the South Pacific, adding his pastry chefs' flair and her mother's Asian roots , which acted as a gateway for the intermingling of Asian and Indian cuisines. She favored Vegetarian dishes best. So with the meeting of this friend and as our friendship flourished, I naturally developed a love affair with Dahl and curries .

This recipe was given to me from an an aging Indian woman who frequented our neighborhood. She was very happy to pass the legacy of her food filled past , however small , as she was saddened by the lack in interest from her grand-children.

Gulab JamunIngredients:

4 oz. dried milk

2 level tablespoons plain flour

pinch of bicarbonate of soda

4-5 tablespoons of milk

1 lb sugar

2 cardamoms

rose water for flavoring

8 oz vegetable fat for frying

Mix the dried milk, flour and bicarbonate of soda in a bowl. Add fresh milk to make a soft dough; make thin 2 in long rolls.

Heat the fat, then cool and put over a slow fire. Put as many of the rolls as the pan will hold comfortably. Cook over a very slow fire till the jamuns are pale gold and have doubled in size.

While the jamuns are frying - add the sugar and 1/2 pint of water in a sauce pan and make a thick syrup. Add the cardamoms, either coarsely ground or whole, to the syrup.

Drain the jamuns and add the syrup, let stand for 5 minutes over low heat, then take off of the fire - add 1 tablespoon of rosewater and cool.

This should make 2 dozen jamuns. Serve hot or cold.

Yummy!!

You can learn more about Indian Confections here. There is also a wikipedia entry on Gulab Jamun . It is a small paragraph --- if you have info on the history of Gulab Jamune You you might want to contribute to building of the wikipedia page.